Israel has ‘won’ war with Iran, Israeli foreign minister says

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday the country had effectively won its war with Iran, but gave no indication of when the war might end. 

Speaking at a news conference, Saar said Israel was seeking to remove "existential threats", but did not say how the government would determine when those goals had been met. 

"One must be patient," he said, speaking on the 18th day of a war that has killed more than 2,000 civilians, most of them in Iran and Lebanon, but also in Israel, Iraq and across the Gulf.

Saar and other Israeli officials have said the aim is to significantly weaken Iran's ability to carry out attacks against Israel over the long term, while creating conditions inside Iran that could ultimately enable Iranians to overthrow their rulers.